The three-day November Meeting at Cheltenham, which starts on Friday, is one of the highlights of the winter racing season and features the Greatwood Hurdle card on Sunday.
Here we preview the exciting action ahead of us and pick out a couple of ante-post picks for the two biggest races.
Day 1 – Friday
We’ve got seven races to look forward to on Friday and the main event is the Grade 2 Shloer Chase.
Nicky Henderson’s Jonbon has won the race for the last two seasons and he is set to make his seasonal reappearance here yet again.
Dan Skelton’s L’Eau Du Sud appears to be the biggest danger, as he was a very promising novice chaser last term, winning a Grade 1 at Sandown and finishing fourth in the Arkle.
Liberty Hunter was second in the Game Spirit last year and is also in with a shout.
There’s also a Grade 2 Albert Bartlett trial over 2m5f and that race could prove informative, with several Irish raiders set to line up, including current favourite Heads Up.
Dan Skelton runs two, whilst Paul Nicholls’ No Drama This End could be worth watching.
Day 2 – Saturday
Saturday provides the highlight of the week – the Paddy Power Gold Cup – a valuable and prestigious handicap which looks set to be a cracking race.
Last year’s winner Il Ridoto is set to take on TrustATrader Plate winner Jagwar, who currently heads the market.
The in-form Sam Thomas could run Vincenzo, who should be a contender, and Henry de Bromhead’s Coming Up Easy has the ideal profile.
The card opens with a Grade 2 juvenile hurdle when we may learn plenty about which British horses are in line for the Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in March.
Parchment and Precious Man are both prominent in the betting and they’re interesting French imports.
A Grade 2 Arkle trial comes up just before the main race and Irish raider July Flower looks like the one to beat, while the very smart Burdett Road makes his first start over fences.
Day 3 – Sunday
The first race on Day 3 is a maiden hurdle, which is swiftly followed by a novice chase. We also have the very competitive Oddschecker Handicap Chase for the stayers, which is run over an extended 3m3f and there’s a £75,000 prize fund on offer.
Undoubtedly the best race of the three days, Sunday’s Greatwood Hurdle is going to be very tough to win.
There are any number of horses in with a chance and Joe Tizzard’s Alexei is prominent in the betting, alongside Dan Skelton’s Mirabad.
Celtic Dino shouldn’t be discounted either, after making a winning return to action at Chepstow last month.
Gibbs Island is another potential winner and the race has been won by four-year-olds a couple of times in the last decade, so don’t let his age put you off.
Gold Cup ante-post tip
Coming Up Easy (9/1) has won three times over fences already, in just five starts. Henry de Bromhead’s progressive chaser won a novice handicap at Limerick back in March and went in again at Cork next time.
He produced a career-best performance to win a competitive Listed event at Killarney over the summer and there could well be more to come before the handicapper catches up.
One concern would be significant rainfall, as decent ground is key to his chances.
Greatwood Hurdle ante-post tip
Sam Thomas has been in red-hot form recently and, as such, every single one of his horses needs to be considered.
Celtic Dino (5/1) would have to carry top weight here but it would be no surprise if he improved beyond his current mark of 144.
He contested grade races as novice hurdler last term, finishing fourth in a Grade 1, and made a winning return to action with a smart performance at Chepstow recently.
